大學(xué)英語文化與影視課程之古羅馬文化分析解析

1、Roman Culture,2.1 Romans and Greeks The burning of Corinth in 146 B.C. marked Roman conquest of Greece, which then was reduced to a province of the Roman Empire. Latin was the language of the western half of the Roman Empire, Greek that of the eastern half. Things shared by the Romans and the Greeks

2、 Both peoples had traditions rooted in the idea of the citizen-assembly, hostile to monarchy and to servility(奴顏媚骨). Question: What kind of ideal did both peoples pursue in their political life?,Their religions were alike enough for most of their deities to be readily identified. 雅努斯 Janus 門神，具有前后兩個

3、面孔或四方四個面孔，象征開始。 朱庇特 Jupiter 神王。相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的宙斯Zeus. 朱諾 Juno 神后，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的赫拉Hera. 墨邱利 Mercury 神的使者，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的赫耳墨斯Hermes. 維納斯 Venus 美神、愛神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的阿佛洛狄德Aphrodite。 瑪爾斯 Mars 戰(zhàn)神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的阿瑞斯Ares。但形象較阿瑞斯正面許多。 薩敦 Saturn 朱庇特的父親，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的科羅努斯Kronus。 瑪亞 Maia 墨邱利的母親，花神。,狄安娜 Diana 月亮女神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的阿爾忒彌斯Artemis。 阿波羅 Apol

4、lo 太陽神，希臘和羅馬名字相同。 米諾娃 Minerva 智慧女神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的雅典娜Athena。 賽爾斯 Ceres 谷物和豐收女神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的狄蜜特Demeter。 伏爾肯 Vulcan 火神，維納斯的丈夫，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的赫斐斯托斯Hephaestus。 尼普敦 Neptune 海王神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的波賽東Posidon，朱庇特的弟弟。 普魯托 Pluto 冥神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的哈底斯Hades，朱庇特的弟弟。 丘比特 Cupid 小愛神，維納斯的兒子，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的愛羅斯Eros。 歐若拉 Aurora 黎明女神，相對應(yīng)于希臘神話的厄俄斯Eos。,Thei

5、r language worked in similar ways, and were ultimately related, both being members of the Indo-European language family which stretches from Bangladesh to Iceland. Differences There was one big difference. The Romans built up a vast empire while the Greeks didnt except for the brief moment of Alexan

6、ders conquest, which soon disintegrated. The Romans were confident in their own organizational power, their military and administrative capabilities, shown by the uniformity with which they put their system smoothly and quickly into effect, wherever in the world the went.,The Romans knew that the Gr

7、eeks enjoyed an artistic and intellectual inheritance much older and immeasurably richer than their own. They respected this inheritance and assimilated it for the artistic enrichment of their own culture. Question: The Roman writer Horace said, “Captive Greece took her rude conqueror captive.”(被征服的

8、希臘征服了它野蠻的征服者)What does it mean?,2.2 Roman History The year 27 B.C. divided the history of Rome into two periods: before then Rome had been a republic; in that year, Octavius took supreme power as emperor with the title of Augustus. Two centuries later, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extreme,

9、encircling the Mediterranean, reaching Scotland in the north and spreading into America and Mesopotamia in the east. The emperors relied on a strong armythe famous Roman legions(軍團)and an efficient bureaucracy to exert their rule, which was facilitated by a well-developed system of roads. Thus the R

10、omans enjoyed a long period of peace lasting 200 years, a remarkable phenomenon in history known as the Pax Romana(羅馬治下的和平).,Questions What does Pax Romana mean? Pax Romana羅馬治下的和平成為字典 的一個短語，指一個強權(quán)通過它的開明政治和法律 給整個世界帶來了和平昌盛。被征服的民族可能會 心懷不滿，但是只要愿意接受羅馬的統(tǒng)治，生活也 是很安定的。 公元前的幾個世紀(jì)，亞平寧半島上的一個小部 族，羅馬，逐步地、穩(wěn)定地、不可阻擋地擴

11、張著， 公元前兩個世紀(jì)，羅馬逐一擊敗它的對手，占據(jù)了 迦太基、馬其頓、希臘、小亞細(xì)亞、埃及，凱撒征 服了不列顛。公元后的二個世紀(jì)，到所謂“五賢帝” 治下，差不多整個西方世界都包羅進了羅馬的版 圖。地中海世界第一次實現(xiàn)了真正的統(tǒng)一。,地中海是戰(zhàn)亂不斷的地方，直到今天仍然是各種文化沖突的大舞臺，巴勒斯坦和以色列就在地中海邊上。但在羅馬帝國的統(tǒng)治下，整個地中海成為一個統(tǒng)一國家的內(nèi)海，不再有敵國之間的征戰(zhàn)，不再有海盜船出沒。羅馬帝國的強大、繁榮、和平，不但在古代的西方世界絕無僅有，就是今天回顧，仍讓人嘆為觀止。且不說羅馬的道路，羅馬的公共體育場，單說用水一項。歷史學(xué)家告訴我們，羅馬城里的人均用水量比最

12、能浪費水資源的美國人還多。羅馬的各個城市里，到處建有公共浴室，供市民享受，其規(guī)模之大，有的能同時容納三千人。為了保證清潔的水質(zhì)，很多城市的用水是通過水道從遠(yuǎn)處的山泉引入的，水道穿過山野，鑿隧道，架橋梁，長達數(shù)十公里。其建筑十分精準(zhǔn)堅固，兩千年后的今天，仍有很多留存在那里。在羅馬城以及其他很多城市，地下水道縱橫交織。,(2) What proverbs can you think of in relation with the Roman Empire? All roads lead to Rome. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The empire b

13、egan to decline in the 3rd century, increasingly troubled by the inroads of northern tribes such as the Goths. In the 4th century the emperor Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium, renamed it Constantinople (君士坦丁堡 ,modern Istanbul). After 395, the empire was permanently divided into E

14、ast and West. In 476 the last emperor of the West was deposed by the Goths and this marked the end of the west Roman Empire. The East Roman Empire collapsed when Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453.,The great contribution by the Romans The great contribution by the Romans to European culture wa

15、s Roman law. In its earliest stage, only a number of patricians(貴族) knew the customary legal procedure. When the rules were put into writing in the middle of the third century B. C., it marked a victory of the plebeians(平民). There was further development of law under the emperors until it was codifi

16、ed(完整編撰), eventually to become the core of modern civil and commercial law in many western countries.,2.3 Latin Literature Prose Marcus Tullius Cicero(106-43 B.C),He played an important role in the Roman senate, was noted for his oratory and fine writing style. His legal and political speeches are m

17、odels of Latin diction. His eloquent, oratorical manner of writing, described as Ciceronian, has had an enormous influence on the development of European prose. Ciceros famous sayings The good of the people is the chief law. (憲法應(yīng)該體現(xiàn)人民的利益) To whose profit? (代表誰的利益?),Julius Caesar (102/100?-44B.C.) He

18、 was another and more successful general who became dictator in Rome for a few years until he was assassinated. He recorded what he did and saw in the various military campaigns he took part in and these writings, collected in his Commentaries(愷撒戰(zhàn)記), are models for succinct Latin. Like the great com

19、mander he was, he used language with economy and ferocity, so that words fell almost with the stroke of an iron chisel(鑿子) on stone. Some of his saying are still remembered today. I came, I saw, I conquered. The die is cast. (孤注一擲) Men willingly believe what they wish.,Poetry Lucretius(about 93-50 B

20、.C.) 盧克萊修 He wrote the philosophical poem On the Nature of Things (物性論) to expound the ideas of Epicurus（伊壁鳩魯 ） the Greek atomist. Some extracts follow: Such evil deeds could religion prompt. 這種邪惡的行為促使宗教的形成. Nothing could be created out of nothing. Matter is eternal. The universe is made up of atoms

21、 and the void. 宇宙是由原子和空隙組成的.,Virgil(70-19 B.C.) The greatest of Latin poets, he wrote the great epic, the Aeneid (伊尼德).It tells the story of Aeneas, one of the princes of Troy, who escaped from the burning city when it fell to the Greeks, to carry on the Trojan cause in a new place, Rome. He didnt g

22、o alone, but carrying his father on his shoulders and leading his little son by the hand, a family group of three generations moved together. Thus there was continuity from the past to the futureAeneas stood at the head of a race of people who were to found first the Roman republic and then the Roma

23、n Empire. Yet Aeneas was a truly tragic hero because to fulfill his historic mission he had to betray the great passion of his life. While he gained an empire, he lost something no empire could compensatehappiness in life.,2.4 Architecture, painting and Sculpture Architecture Pantheon(萬神殿 ) It was t

24、he greatest and the best preserved Roman temple, which was built in 27 B.C. and reconstructed in the 2nd century A.D. It is in a round, domed form and has the worlds first vast interior space.,Pont du Gard(水道橋 ) It is an exceptionally well-preserved aqueduct(渡槽) that spans a wide valley in southern France.,The Golosseum(斗獸場) It is an enormous amphitheatre（圓形露天競技場） built in the center of Rome in imperial times. A masterpiece of engineering, it held more